What is a Podcast? August 14, 2009
Posted by Cody in blogging.Tags: Blogging like a Blogger Series, iPod, podcast, podcast subscriptions
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A podcast is an internet term that refers to the transferring and downloading of media files that can be played or accessed from a portable media device such as an Apple iPod. Apples iPod is the most popular portable storage device on the market today, which is why this type of marketing is considered podcasting, and not portable media device casting. However, podcasts can be used on many different types and brands of portable storage devices. Podcasting is not isolated to be used with Apples iPod only. The types of media that can be downloaded and transferred can be, text based, audio based, or video. Currently, audio is the most utilized format for podcasting but video is steadily catching up. A podcast is merely a file created in a specific format that is downloaded from a host and then transferred to a portable media device so that the media can be accessed anywhere, anytime. The main benefit of a podcast is that it can be subscribed to. After subscribing to a podcast, you will receive updated podcasts that are delivered directly to your portable storage device. So rather than browsing to each individual pod casters web page or blog to download the new file (audio, text, video) each and every time a new podcast is available, all you would need to do is access the page once, subscribe to the podcast, and then wait for the new information to be automatically transferred.
Jump on Board the Multimedia Blogging Monorail August 8, 2009
Posted by Cody in blogging.Tags: adding photos to blogs, blogging, Blogging like a Blogger Series, how to blog, Image blogs, image host, multimedia content
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Lets get on with the fun stuff. Everybody should be aware that the internet is a multimedia monorail for sharing information and ideas. Multimedia is defined by communicating using more than one form of medium. This includes images, audio, and video. Limiting your blog to text only is not only going to dampen your progression, but its also kind of boring. Sharing Images Photos, pictures, paintings, drawings, graphics or any other type of visual imagery will help convey an idea to your readers or help share an experience with them. Having pictures available will help your readers better understand what you are trying to express. Many people are visual learners and connect more so with images rather than text. In many industries it is absolutely vital to have visual representation and visual representation is an industry all of its own. Take a painter for example: A painter’s personal blog should be bombarded or mobbed with their work, giving readers updates of what they are currently working on. If a blog is meant to communicate the “art of painting”, then only including text based information on it does not make a whole lot of sense, that much at least should be clear. Furthermore including images can be extremely effective regardless of what you are trying to express or accomplish. All you need to do is express your own creativity.
I’d like to now mention a few technical attributes in regards to images. Aside from actual text, images are the smallest type of multimedia you can add to a blog or website; in regards to actual space that is taken up on data storage media, such as a hard drive, a flash drive, or a CD. This means that you can usually add several hundred photos or images to a blog before you reach your hosting providers space limits, if there are any. The most common formats for web based images are .jpg and .gif. These formats use compression algorithms to reduce the size of the image file, which in turn reduces the amount of space that is taken up on your hosting company’s servers, and the amount of time that is taken to download the file. Music, video, animations, and any other type of more progressive media will take up more space on a server and take longer to download.
Your blog provider will typically provide their own image hosting (if they do not find another blog host). If you however want to keep an alternative online archive of photos without posting each and every photo to your blog, you can use an online photo sharing and management application like flickr.com or photobucket.com. These services allow you to upload images and videos, and create albums from your uploaded photos. They offer organization services, sharing and searching capabilties along with themes and customization. You can easily pull images from a service such flickr.com or photobucket.com and add them to your blog. Getting use to the multimedia environment may take some time, but once you get into a groove, you’ll have a lot of fun. I’ll discuss adding videos and podcasts next time.
Choose Wisely – 7 Things to Consider When Becoming an Affiliate August 3, 2009
Posted by Cody in affiliate marketing.Tags: Affiliate Marketing My Way
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Before signing up to a companies affiliate program, it is important to know what to look for in a program, so that you don’t waste valuable time and marketing dollars promoting a product or service that does not suite your needs in the long run. I’ve listed a few things here that will help you make a more educated decision upfront, to help you avoid joining the wrong program.
#1) Payment Methods
How and when you get paid from the affiliate program you are thinking about joining should be one of the first things you find out. You do not want to be under a wrong impression before you get started. There are 3 main ways that an affiliate program will reimburse their affiliates for the traffic they generate for them. Most companies will offer only one of these 3 payment methods but some may offer all 3, giving you the affiliate, the choice as to which you would prefer. They are as follows:
Pay Per Click – (PPC)
This payment method rewards affiliates for each and every visitor they drive to a company’s website. If a company is going to offer this type of payout structure they will typically only offer a very small amount for each visitor, a few pennies to a few dollars at most. At on time this payout method was quite common, but as time goes on, it is becoming less popular.
Pay Per Action – (PPA)
This payment method rewards affiliates for each visitor they drive to a website that performs a certain action, such as signing up for a free consultation, downloading a trial software program or entering a contest. This payout method is common in industries that work primarily off of leads, such as loan institutions, credit card companies or marketing firms.
Pay Per Sale – (PPS)
This payment method is by far the most common within affiliate marketing and companies offering this payout method will reward affiliates for each visitor directed to their website which actually turns into a customer. In other words, the visitors you send to their website will need to purchase a product before you will get paid.
#2) Product Price & Percentage of Commission
Before promoting a companies product, make sure it is reasonably priced. It helps to check out some other competitors of that product to see if the company you are affiliated with has a competitive price. You will also want to check the payout percentage. This is the amount that you will be paid per each sale, visitor or action you generate. Typically, as mentioned earlier, you will be paid for each sale that is generated by visitors you referred to a company’s website. The percentage of the sale that you will receive will differ from company to company and offer to offer. You want to make sure you are receiving a fair commission for each sale you generate. It is important to know that a high commission is not the only thing that will make you successful with a program. Another important factor is the actual price of the product you are promoting.
-For Example:
Company A is selling notebooks for $10.00 each and is paying out a 75% commission. This means that for each sale you generate for company A, you will receive $7.50.
Company B is selling high performance automobile air filters for $150.00 each and is paying out a 15% commission. This means that for each sale you generate for company B, you will receive $22.50.
You need to take this into consideration when comparing different affiliate programs and deciding which affiliate program to join.
#3) Incentive Programs
This is another attribute companies will include with an affiliate program in hopes of attracting new affiliates. Incentive programs can offer many benefits for an affiliate, such as rewarding affiliates who generate the most amount of sales, offering advice or information on how to be a better affiliate, paying higher commission for larger orders, and paying affiliates for subsequent orders from customers who where originally referred to the company by the affiliate. For companies offering affiliate programs, this is a good way of increasing profits and sales because the more successful their affiliates are the more successful the company is going to be. You as an affiliate are also benefiting from incentive programs because they make you a better affiliate marketer. Keep an eye out for a company that offers incentives. It may just be the deciding factor when deciding to become an affiliate of company B, rather then company A.
#4) Good Reputation
Make sure the company has a good reputation. Always do research on the company you plan on working with. Knowing how long the company has been in business and knowing the company’s track record will help build confidence in your decision as you move forward. Read reviews, testimonials, and opinions of the products and companies when they are available and check public registries such as the Better Business Bureau and Dun and Bradstreet. These public resources review other companies and give advice to consumers as to a company’s background. If you have found a company through an affiliate program network, such as Commission Junction, check to see how long they have been a member of the network. If a company has been registered with an affiliate program network for a year or so, you can proceed with confidence that this company is actually a business, in business, to do business.
#5) Professional Website Design
You definitely do not want to join a company’s affiliate program that does not represent them selves professionally. Their website should be clear, concise and you should be able to find any piece of information you are looking for. If you can’t find the information you are looking for, you better be able to find some type of contact information to a department or an individual that is able to provide further information and assistance. You should be able to navigate the website easily and there should be very few broken links, or links that lead to nowhere. The design should be modern and professional without contrasting colors or annoying graphics. You yourself should want to purchase this companies product and feel comfortable doing so. Remember, the companies you affiliate with will reflect on you as well. You should only want to refer people to a company that is going to reflect well on your reputation as an affiliate marketer. This also helps in further marketing endeavors. Once you generate a visitor to a website for a company you are affiliated with, the visitor that you worked so hard to generate is now in another companies hands. You don’t want all your hard work to go to waste by spending time and money generating visitors to a website that you don’t think has the best possible potential of converting those visitors into buyers, especially if you only get paid from the actual purchases your visitors make.
#6) Good Customer Service
Make sure the company that you are affiliated with provides good customer service to their customers. If a company fails to provide adequate customer service, does not respond to questions or inquires in a timely manner, or treats their customers with a lack of professionalism. Many times they will turn to the affiliate for answers. The majority of the time the affiliate will not be able to give any type of relief. The affiliate is not responsible for any type of customer service related issue such as returns, complaints, or charge backs. Working with a company that does not care about their customers will reflect badly on your business and your reputation as an industry authority.
#7) Terms and Conditions
Each affiliate program you look to join will have a set of “terms and conditions” that they will expect you to follow as an affiliate. Make sure you read each programs terms and conditions before you register. Reading through these documents can be time consuming but I highly suggest doing so. Learn everything you can about what is included within the program to help you avoid unforeseen complications in the future. Many of these terms and condition agreements are lengthy documents full of legalities which the company needs to put in place to avoid problems arising in the future with their affiliates. These documents also should very clearly state your rights and obligations as an affiliate. Terms and condition agreements will typically include program eligibility requirements, such as needing to have a website in order to participate in the program. They will list any fee’s that are you can expect to pay to become a part of the program. They will explained when affiliates get paid, how much and how often. They should also list any other stipulations such as contracts, exclusive selling rights, marketing guidelines and so on and so forth.
Keeping a few of these things in mind as you immerse yourself in the feild of affiliates, will help you reduce the pool of potential candidate companies you have to choose from. It’s better to choose right the first time rather than having to test trial different products and companies before you land on a winner. There is really no rush, but don’t take to long making your decision. The longer you avoid joining a program for one reason or another, the longer it will take to develope that addition money stream. So, at some point, just jump in!
